Thursday, June 15, 2017

Green is the color of the heart chakra/anahata. It's located at the center of the chest and is a powerful resource for lovingkindness. Anahata is the
fourth of the seven basic chakras in the body. Thought of as an integrative
energy center that blends the physical and spiritual within the body, this chakra influences the cardiovascular system, including the
lungs. On a non-physical level, it impacts your relationships, lifestyle
choices, mission or calling, values, and ethics.

Anahata is associated with the color green, and green is a
great source of universal energy, supply, and health. It’s the ray that enriches the
personality and raises vibrations for abundance and success.

According
to Deepak Chopra,“the heart center represents the unifying energy of
love and compassion. The heart chakra is dedicated to overcoming separation and
division. When the heart center is blocked, there is a sense of alienation from
others. When the heart center is open and flowing, you feel connected at a deep
level to all beings in your life.” For more read What-Everyone-Needs-to-Know-About-Their-Chakras.

Do you wish your heart felt better than it does now? Perhaps you're holding on to sadness or grief, and can't seem to let go of it. Maybe you've had respiratory issues including shortness of breath. Listen to Healing the Heart (opening your heart chakra) Guided Meditation on YouTube by davidji to help you release blocked energy, soothe body, mind, and soul, and overcome feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and heartache. Listen to and chant the sound of the heart chakra and allow sound and green color vibrations to fill you up. YouTube Video and Audio with the heart Chakra Chant from Meditative Mind offers Meditation Music.

When you're open to the healing, unifying, and warming energy of the heart chakra you realize, for this moment, all is exactly as it needs to be in your heart, family, community, and world. Chant YAM, the sound of the heart chakra or listen to a YouTube audio and video Magical Chakra Meditation Chants for Heart Chakra | YAM Seed Mantra Chanting and Music. Let the vibrations of green and the heart chakra color your world with love. Do you use color imagery and visualization, meditation, or prayer to empower yourself? What happens when you place your hand in the middle of your chest next to your heart and chant YAM? Do you feel the vibrations?

Please hold your hand there another moment and affirm:

"I am a loving person who recognizes and treasures my own self-worth." "I love myself wholeheartedly and joy in my being spreads to all that I see or think about today."Please take a moment to comment in the space provided below (don't forget to click publish when you're though commenting). Do you sense or think green and the heart chakra can help you in some way? Please explain. If the chakras are new to you, that's exciting. Comment about that too. I welcome questions so feel free to ask them. For info about the first chakra read How-to-Create-Balance-Energy-and-Strength-Through-The Root-Chakra.

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Leafy Green Salads are loaded
with vibrant plant energy, flavor, crunch, and plant-based protein. Greens,
when served raw, are alive with chlorophyll, the building block of cells. It's the substance that your body converts to energy for that great "get up and go feeling."

Most greens are
rich in calcium, iron, potassium, and B vitamins too. Prepare a chilled, refreshing tossed
green salad with all the trimmings. Elevate your health as well as savor a simple to prepare, delicious one dish meal.

The color greenhelps you focus on self-improvement, weed out old messages, and
sprout new growth. Visualize green to give you motivation to turn over a new
green leaf. Are there facets of your eating plan that require attention? If you
want to increase your health quotient, pay attention to what you eat. Notice
how quickly health improves, when you eat more fruits and veggies. Green energystimulates health, facilitates new
beginnings, and is the symbol of freedom and wealth. To feel better
emotionally, spiritually, physically, and intellectually put more green into
your life.

Did you know that lettuce has an average glycemic index
of 15? Because it has only one calorie per cup, its glycemic load is considered
zero. Foods with low glycemic indexes are great for anyone watching their blood
sugar. Eating salad with low fat or fat-free dressing is a great way to manage weight.

Romaine, guacamole, pinto beans, and colorful veggies

Leafy greens are often available in markets
or farm stands in an organic state (organic varieties are more nutritious and
don’t contain toxic pesticides like conventional ones). Look for the prewashed, packaged salad
blends for convenience. Buy individual heads of lettuce, that usually stay fresh longer and are less expensive than the prepackaged kind.

Salad add-ins like tomatoes, red cabbage, red
pepper, and spinach, are chock-full of antioxidants. Scoop on leftover beans, peas, or lentils, and make a simple meal that's hearty, as well as increase daily protein and fiber count.

Whole food plant-based entrée salads are an excellent way to satisfy hunger, fuel your body so it can work at peak efficiency, aid digestion and elimination, and eat a delicious meal that’s cholesterol free.

Brightly colored green veggies like celery, cucumbers, watercress, and zucchini squash are fun to use in salads. Add other colors too like carrots,
radishes, beets, red onion, and cauliflower. Fruit Salads that include strawberries, apples, blueberries, and melon are tasty additions to your weekly meal plan. Check out this Delicious Arugula Salad with Watermelon and Tofu Feta from Diane at Plant-based Cooking.

Mix or Match These Healthy Add-ins Instead of Using Junk Food Toppings

Cooked Whole Grain Pasta or Brown Rice

Canned Black Beans or Kidney Beans

Raw Brazil Nuts or Sesame Seeds

Fresh fennel, celery root, jicama, radicchio, endive,
escarole

Fresh papaya, mango, pineapple, Napa cabbage

Cooked artichokes, asparagus, Brussel sprouts

Olives, capers, onions, sundried tomatoes, roasted garlic

Note: It often follows that the
more vibrant the color of the plant-based food, the more eye appeal and
nutrients within.

Dr. Michael Greger, author of How
Not to Die and founder of NutritionFacts.org, advises people to eat cruciferous
vegetables every day. One simple way to include this type of food is to put broccoli, cabbage, collards, or kale into salads. He says, “I recommend at least one
serving a day (typically a half cup cooked cruciferous veggies) and at least two
additional servings of greens a day (one cup raw veggies equals a portion)." Dr. Greger’s
favorite greens are arugula, beet greens, collard greens, kale (black, green,
and red), mesclun mix (assorted young salad greens), mustard greens, sorrel, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnip greens. See 6 Foods I Recommend Eating Every Day for a Long Life: A Doctor Explains. Here's a wonderful recipe from Hadia at Hadia's Lebanese Cuisine.com. It's a mouth-watering recipe for Potato-Green-Bean-and-Avocado-Salad that's colorful and filling.

Discover how simple, satisfying, and nutritious it is to chop up and put together a main course salad.

Note: Be
Mindful of Your Salad Dressing Choices. All the good work you do eating
plant-based salads is for naught, if you smother your salads with fatty
dressings. Here’s a terrific low-fat Tahini Salad Dressing. Recipe is from Diane at
www.plantbasedcooking.com.

Have fun and take it easy this summer, especially when the weather gets hot.